Conventional methods of firefighting have their limits when it comes to extinguishing fires in tunnels and underground railway shafts. The build-up of smoke and soot is an enormous hindrance to firefighting. Then there is the intense heat and the low concentration of oxygen because of the inertization process. In most cases the extinguisher jet cannot reach every part of the source of the fire.

EmiControls firefighting solutions have proven their high level of effectiveness in this area. The mist cannon was mounted on a crawler vehicle, which can be driven into the tunnel by remote control. Alternatively, the mist cannon can be fitted on a railway vehicle. The firefighting crew need not be exposed to any immediate danger with this method but can follow the mist cannon at a safe distance.

The mist smothers the smoke and soot particles so that they cannot stay afloat in the atmosphere. The turbine also aids the existing ventilation system in the tunnel. The atomization process produces a relatively large surface area of mist and therefore a relatively large heat-transfer area. This inhibits the build-up of heat around the burning object.

The burning object is virtually smothered by the mist. The source of fire is therefore deprived of oxygen and then the fire is quenched. This inertization process takes place in a localized area, at the very source of the fire. The oxygen content in the rest of the tunnel, away from the fire source, is not reduced. Therefore people are not exposed to additional risk.